WAGNER’S RING CYCLE IN NEW YORK
A new production of Wagner’s Ring cycle is always a special event but when it is at New York’s Metropolitan Opera and it is their first new Ring for over 20 years, then it is one of the most eagerly anticipated events of the operatic year!
ACE is privileged to have secured some of the very best seats for Robert Lepage’s spectacular production, the most expensive in the Met’s history, with a cast including Bryn Terfel as Wotan, Katarina Dalayman as Brünnhilde and Gary Lehman as Siegfried. Eva-Maria Westbroek sings Sieglinde, Jonas Kaufmann Siegmund and the cycle is conducted by the Met’s music director James Levine, who has conducted every Met Ring cycle since 1989.
The musical theme will be further enriched by a backstage tour of the Met and a ferry ride past the Statue of Liberty to Ellis Island, where Dvorak, Irving Berlin, Puccini, Mahler and Rachmaninoff all first set foot on American soil.
Our stay in New York will embrace the non-musical delights of this most culturally vibrant of cities. Alongside visits to the incomparable Metropolitan Museum of Art and the lavish Museum of Modern Art, we will take an architectural walk along Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street past such famous landmarks as the Rockefeller Center and St Patrick’s Cathedral.
We stay at the New York Marriott East Side in the heart of Manhattan on Lexington Avenue. The hotel has recently been renovated to a high standard.
Some visits will be by public transport.
The New York Met
Clad in white travertine and graced with five distinctive arches, there is nothing quite like New York’s Metropolitan opera house. From the moment one catches sight of the fountains dancing on Josie Robertson Plaza, attending an opera at the Met is a uniquely glamorous experience. Two huge Marc Chagall murals, The Triumph of Music and The Sources of Music, dominate the foyer, whilst in the auditorium itself, just minutes before the curtain opens, a dozen glistening chandeliers rise gracefully from the dress circle to the gilded ceiling. As well as attending four Ring performances, we will enjoy a comprehensive backstage tour where we will watch sets being built and visit the dressing and rehearsal rooms (with the hope that we will be able to eavesdrop on rehearsals!).
This tour will be led by the musicologist Rupert Scott, BMus, who studied at King’s College, London, and at the Royal Academy of Music. A composer, and for many years a professional orchestral violinist, Rupert now lectures widely on music and has taught a range of musical appreciation courses.
Itinerary
Day 1Depart Heathrow 1400 on Virgin Atlantic for JFK New York, arriving 1640. Transfer to New York Marriott East Side, Manhattan, for nine nights. Free evening.
Day 2Morning lecture followed by orientation tour by coach and on foot: Central Park, Broadway, Times Square, Greenwich Village, Washington Square, Wall Street and Ground Zero. Free afternoon. Early dinner included before Das Rheingold at the Met.
Day 3Morning lecture followed by Cloisters (mediaeval art). Afternoon: Metropolitan Museum of Art (guided tour followed by independent viewing). Free evening.
Day 4Morning: Die Walküre at the Met. Free evening.
Day 5Morning lecture followed by Guggenheim Museum (Frank Lloyd Wright) and traditional New York Sunday brunch. Afternoon: MOMA (Museum of Modern Art).
Day 6By ferry past Statue of Liberty to Ellis Island for Museum of Immigration. Free afternoon. Evening: Siegfried at the Met.
Day 7Morning: guided tour of United Nations building. Afternoon: backstage tour of Metropolitan Opera House. Free evening.
Day 8Morning lecture followed by Frick Collection (masterpieces of western painting and decorative arts). Free afternoon. Early evening dinner at The View (revolving restaurant overlooking Times Square) with opportunity to visit a Broadway theatre or jazz club in Greenwich Village.
Day 9Morning lecture followed by architectural walking tour: Chrysler Building, Grand Central, New York Public Library, Rockefeller Center, St Patrick’s Cathedral, Empire State Building. Free afternoon. Evening: Götterdämmerung at the Met.
Day 10Morning at leisure. Depart JFK New York 1930.
Day 11Arrive Heathrow 0750.
Cost includes: return airfare, accommodation based on sharing a twin or double bedded room, performances as described, breakfast, two dinners & one brunch, excursions & admissions.
Not included: visa waiver fee, travel insurance, supplement for double room for single use £790.
